Monday 26 October 2020 10:08, UK
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure turns 32 today as he celebrates another birthday at the Etihad Stadium.
The Ivory Coast international caused a stir last year after his agent said he felt "disrespected" by the club, who failed to acknowledge his 31st birthday.
“The club’s owners ate a 100kg cake after winning the Premier League this season, but when they and the players were all together, none of them shook his hand on his birthday," said Dmitry Seluk. "It shows they don’t care about him."
There were rumours of an exit from the club, but Toure remains a City player with two years still left on his contract.
He won the Africa Cup of Nations earlier in the year but has no trophy with City to celebrate, so we’ve dug out 32 fun, interesting – and sometimes tenuous – facts about the midfielder to give him some birthday cheer…
1 – The midfielder has been sent off just once during his time at Man City, getting his marching orders against CSKA Moscow in the Champions League in November.
2 – There were two Toures on the pitch on 1 March 2015, when Yaya and Kolo played against each other for Man City and Liverpool after the latter came on as a substitute for Brendan Rodgers’ side. It's the only time the two brothers have played on opposite sides in the same game.
3 – He scored the first and only hat-trick of his career against Fulham in a 5-0 victory for City on 22 April 2014.
4 – Toure picked up the award for African Footballer of the Year for a record fourth time in a row in 2014, beating off competition from Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Lille goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama.
5 – This is his fifth birthday since joining Man City in the summer of 2010. The number of cakes he’s received in that time is subject to speculation.
6 – Trophies Toure won in one calendar year with Barcelona in 2009. After completing the treble at the end of the 2008/09 season, Pep Guardiola’s side also went on to lift the Spanish Supercopa, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
7 – Number of times the name “Yaya” is sung in the chant about the Toure brothers, which follows the tune of “No Limit” by 2Unlimited.
8 – Goals he’s scored for City in the Premier League this season. The midfielder has fallen well short of his tally of 20 from last term.
9 – The price (in milllions of pounds) of Yaya Toure in Sky Sports Fantasy Football. The City man is the most expensive midfielder available.
10 – Inter Milan are reportedly considering an offer of around £10m for Toure in the summer.
11 – Toure has completed 1,991 passes in the Premier League, and on average he only fails to find a team-mate with 11 per cent of his attempted passes.
12 – From qualification to the final, the Ivory Coast played 12 matches on their way to victory at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
13 – Toure joined Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas at the age of 13, working his way through the ranks at a club which has also produced the likes of Didier Zokora, Emmanuel Eboue, Gervinho and Salomon Kalou.
14 – According to Forbes, the Ivorian earned nearly £14m in salary, winnings and endorsements in 2014, putting him 59th on the list of highest-paid athletes.
15 – Goals scored by City in the nine Premier League games without Toure this season, at an average of 1.7 per game. With him, they average 2.3 per game.
16 – Trophies won by Toure in his career. That includes the Africa Cup of Nations, six league titles in four countries, five domestic cups, the Champions League, the Super Cup, the Club World Cup, and the Community Shield.
17 – At 17 years old, he made his senior debut for Mimosas. The following year they won the Cote D’Ivoire Premier Division.
18 – Number of studio and live albums released by Bob Marley, who Toure said in a Twitter Q&A for Man City is probably his favourite musician.
19 – Number of goals he has scored for the Ivory Coast national team. His only goal at a World Cup finals came in a 3-0 win over DPR Korea in South Africa in 2010.
20 – Two years after joining Belgian side Beveren, a 20-year-old Toure had a trial with Arsenal. With brother Kolo already there, Arsene Wenger was apparently considering signing the midfielder, but a work permit proved difficult to obtain. Toure ended up joining Ukrainian side Metalurh Donetsk instead.
21 – In the 21st minute of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final, Toure fired in a rocket of a strike to give Ivory Coast the lead as they went on to beat DR Congo 3-1 en route to their triumph in the final.
22 – Toure shares a birthday with Everton and Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, who is exactly 10 years his junior and turns 22.
23 – The midfielder has only registered one assist in the Premier League this season (compared to nine last season). 23 defenders have set up more goals than him.
24 – The shirt number Toure had at Barcelona, which was in honour of boyhood hero Patrick Vieira. He swapped the numbers round when he joined Man City because Vieira already had the number 24 shirt himself!
25 – Months left on Toure’s contract at City, with his current deal at the Etihad Stadium set to expire in June 2017.
26 – Cautions picked up by the Ivorian in his 161 Premier League appearances since joining City in 2010.
27 – Toure became the first Ivorian to win the Champions League, when Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0 on 27 May 2009.
28 – After signing for City, Toure made his first-ever appearance for the club on 28 July 2010 in a friendly against Mexican side Club America, which they won 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
29 – On 29 April 1955, Fanta Orange – which Toure apparently couldn’t get enough of when at Beveren – was introduced to the world by a bottler in Naples.
30 – Roberto Mancini was sacked on the day of Yaya Toure’s 30th birthday, two days after their shock defeat to Wigan in the FA Cup final.
31 – The midfielder has created 31 chances for City in the Premier League this season, registering just one assist.
32 – Candles on the cake he’ll undoubtedly receive today. Happy birthday, Yaya!
